End Duty-Free Privilege For China Packages Worth Less Than $800

Two US senators aiming to curb the influx of duty-free packages from China are urging President Joe Biden to take executive action, citing concerns over unfair competition from low-cost competitors reliant on forced labor and state subsidies in critical sectors, according to Kevin Freking's report for the Associated Press (AP).

Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have penned a letter to Biden urging an end to the duty-free treatment altogether for these products. I Photo: AFGE Wikimedia Commons

Under current US trade law, packages bound for the US and valued below a certain threshold can enter tariff-free, known as the "de minimis" category, which stands at $800 per person per day.

The majority of these imports are retail products purchased online. Faced with a surge in such shipments from China, lawmakers in both chambers have introduced legislation to revise how the US treats imports valued at less than $800.

Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have penned a letter to Biden urging an end to the duty-free treatment altogether for these products.

"The situation has reached a tipping point where vast sections of American manufacturing and retail are at stake if de minimis is not immediately addressed," the senators wrote.

They singled out companies like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, alleging they "unfairly" benefit from duty-free treatment.

The senators argue that the influx of shipments harms big-box stores and other US retailers and impacts American safety and livelihoods, effectively outsourcing manufacturing and retail sectors to China, which utilizes practices like slave labor to undermine the US economy.

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